Ohio Chamber of Commerce backs LGBTQ anti-discrimination bill

Posted Jan 17, 2018

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce for the first time is supporting a measure to ban job or housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. Bill sponsor Rep. Nickie Antonio, a Lakewood Democrat, said the chamber's support gives the bill new momentum.(Jackie Borchardt, cleveland.com)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An Ohio bill banning job or housing discrimination against LGBTQ people has the support of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce for the first time in the more than 10 years the legislation has been debated at the Statehouse.

The chamber's backing, along with the support of coalition of about 300 Ohio businesses, gives the bill more momentum than it's had before, bill sponsor Rep. Nickie Antonio, a Lakewood Democrat, said Wednesday. The bill, also for the first time, will get a second committee hearing, scheduled later this month.

House Bill 160, called the Ohio Fairness Act, would extend Ohio's workplace and housing discrimination protections to sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. It would also add sexual orientation and gender identity or expression to existing state laws against discriminatory practices.

Public opinion polling has shown most Ohioans think those criteria are already included in state law alongside factors such as age, race, sex, religion and disability status.

Ohio is among 28 states that do not have such protections for LGBTQ people, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

Don Boyd, director of labor and legal affairs for the chamber, said the bill is good for business. Boyd said many chamber members and Ohio cities already have such policies, so updating the state policy would ensure consistency for businesses that operate statewide.

"Our members want to be able to attract the best and the brightest from all walks of life," Boyd said in an interview. "To be able to do that and compete with other states for talent, we need to make people feel welcome there. Part of that is making sure we have adequate protections in place for all employees."

An employment and housing anti-discrimination bill passed the House in 2009, when it was controlled by Democrats, but failed to pass the GOP-controlled Senate. Republicans have led both chambers since then and have not advanced Antonio's past attempts.

In the past two years, Antonio and supporters have framed the bill as a business issue. The chamber and the Ohio Business Competes coalition agree.

The bill defines "sexual orientation" as actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality or bisexuality. "Gender identity or expression" is defined as the gender-related identity, appearance, mannerisms or other gender-related characteristics of an individual, without regard to the individual's designated sex at birth.

"It's a fair proposal that simply gives people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer the same freedom to work, the same freedom to live where they choose to live, the same full equal participation in society, just as anybody else in Ohio," Antonio said at a Wednesday press conference urging support for the bill.

The bill would not change Ohio's civil rights law exemptions for religious entities. Sarah Warbelow, legal director for the Human Rights Campaign, said the bill would still allow a religious school, for example, to fire a teacher because they find out he is gay.